Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites

Japanese raw silk sold exceptionally well, but the quality produced by in-house handcraft workers was inconsistent, and its reputation gradually declined. However, European countries needed to import raw silk urgently. So they sent official envoys  accompanied by a raw silk specialist to inspect the state of silk production in the countryside.  They came to a conclusion that adopting the European technology of machine-made silk would help quality and efficiency.

Meanwhile, the Japanese authorities, who had just established a new government (the Meiji era 1868-1912), were looking for a way to move forward their “wealthy nation and strong army (富国強兵)” program. Selling a lot of raw silk was one way to earn foreign currency and fund this idea. This meant it was crucial to introduce the efficient European silk manufacturing technology and improve quality to build stable production and sell it at a higher price.

The Meiji government went to Paul Brunat, a French silk inspection engineer and asked if he could help build a government-run silk factory. After inspecting different locations, Brunat selected Tomioka as the location. Less than two years later, a huge red-brick factory with two cocoon warehouses, the likes of which no one had ever seen before was completed.

The Tomioka Silk Mill became a symbol of Japan’s industrial revolution and was completed in the same year the first railway opened in Japan. It stayed operational for 115 years and was a model for other factories that opened later. Due to the expansion of silk mills which were based on the Tomioka model, Japan became the ‘number one’ producer of raw silk by the early 20th century producing as much as 60 percent of the world’s supply.